The program concerns the comparative studies of the processes of various invertebrates which form different types of calcium carbonate crystals - calcite, aragonite, and vaterite. The organisms will include Crassostrea virginica and other molluscs, coelenterates (Renilla reniformis and others), and echinoderms. The crystal type is different in different anatomical portions of the shells or skeletons in some organisms. In others, the type is changed during the development from the larval stage to the adult, or during regeneration. Also, hydroxyapatite formation in teleoste scales will be investigated. Transmission and scanning electron microscope observations will be carried out to correlate the cellular structures of the shell-forming and skeletogenic tissues to the formation of a particular type of crystals. Special emphasis will be given to the processes of organic matrix synthesis, nucleation and growth of crystals, and pathways of calcium from the cellular organelles to the sites of calcification. At the same time, amino acid composition of the organic matrix will also be analyzed.